Introduction Benjamin Franklin was one of the most extraordinary human beings the world has ever known. Born into the family of a Boston candle maker,

Similar presentations

Presentation on theme: "Introduction Benjamin Franklin was one of the most extraordinary human beings the world has ever known. Born into the family of a Boston candle maker,"— Presentation transcript:

3
Introduction Benjamin Franklin was one of the most extraordinary human beings the world has ever known. Born into the family of a Boston candle maker, Benjamin Franklin became the most famous American of his time. He helped found a new nation and defined the American character. Writer, inventor, diplomat, businessman, musician, scientist, humorist, civic leader, international celebrity and… genius.

4
Biography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin was born on Sunday, January 17, 1706, in Boston, Massachusetts, which was then a British colony. He was the 10th son and one of 17 children in his family. Benjamin Franklin's father wanted Ben to be the son who became a preacher and so he sent him to grammar school when he was 8 years old. After less than a year, for financial reasons, Ben transferred to Mr. George Brownell's school for writing and arithmetic. He stayed at the new school until he was ten, doing well in writing and badly in arithmetic. He then left school to work with his father in their candle shop. Benjamin loved to read and by the age of 12 he was working as an apprentice to his brother James, who was a printer. Benjamin Franklin would help his brother compose pamphlets and set type, and then sell the products on the streets. Later regardless Ben took a boat to New York where he hoped to find work as a printer. He didn't, and walked across New Jersey, finally arriving in Philadelphia via a boat ride.

5
Biography of Benjamin Franklin Franklin found work as an apprentice printer. He did so well that the governor of Pennsylvania promised to set him up in business for himself if young Franklin would just go to London to buy fonts and printing equipment. Franklin did go to London, but the governor reneged on his promise and Benjamin was forced to spend several months in England doing print work. Upon returning to Philadelphia, Franklin tried his hand at helping to run a shop, but soon went back to being a printer's helper. Franklin seemed to work all the time, and the citizens of Philadelphia began to notice the diligent young businessman. Soon he began getting the contract to do government jobs and started thriving in business. In 1729, Benjamin Franklin bought a newspaper, the Pennsylvania Gazette. Franklin not only printed the paper, but often contributed pieces to the paper under aliases. His newspaper soon became the most successful in the colonies. This newspaper, among other firsts, would print the first political cartoon, authored by Ben himself. But Franklin thrived on work. In 1733 he started publishing Poor Richard's Almanack. Almanacs of the era were printed annually, and contained things like weather reports, recipes, predictions and homilies. Franklin published his almanac under the guise of a man named Richard Saunders, a poor man who needed money to take care of his carping wife. What distinguished Franklin's almanac were his witty aphorisms and lively writing. Many of the famous phrases associated with Franklin, such as, "A penny saved is a penny earned" come from Poor Richard. In 1736, the fires were very dangerous threat to Philadelphians, so Franklin set about trying to remedy the situation, he organized Philadelphia's Union Fire Company, the first in the city. His famous saying, "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure," was actually fire-fighting advice. In 1743, he helped to launch the American Philosophical Society, the first learned society in America. Recognizing that the city needed better help in treating the sick, Franklin brought together a group who formed the Pennsylvania Hospital in 1751 and in 1752, Franklin helped to found the Philadelphia Contribution for Insurance Against Loss by Fire. Those with insurance policies were not wiped out financially.

6
Biography of Benjamin Franklin Benjamin Franklin spent the years 1757-1762 in London representing Pennsylvania in a dispute over taxation of lands held by the Penn family. In 1764 he was sent back to London, where he helped secure repeal of the Stamp Act. His initial belief in a unified colonial government under British rule gradually changed over the issue of taxation. He remained in England until 1775, when he departed in anticipation of war. When he is back to Philadelphia he served as a delegate to the Second Continental Congress, where he helped draft the Declaration of Independence. In 1776 he traveled to France to seek military and financial aid for the colonies. There he became a hero to the French people, the personification of the unsophisticated nobility of the New World. At the close of the Revolutionary War, he was one of the diplomats chosen to negotiate peace with Britain. As a member of the 1787 Constitutional Convention, he was instrumental in achieving adoption of the U.S. Constitution. Through the years he wrote a large number of editorials, articles, pamphlets, and monographs, principally on political and scientific subjects. Benjamin Franklin died on April 17, 1790, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.

7
Famous inventions and experiments Franklin Stove: Ben invented the Franklin Stove, an iron furnace that allowed people to heat their homes safely while using less wood. He discovered the conductivity of heat by color and established the first volunteer fire- fighting union and fire insurance company in Philadelphia.

8
Famous inventions and experiments Armonica: Benjamin Franklin's armonica, created in 1761, was smaller than the originals and did not require water tuning. Benjamin Franklin's design used glasses that were blown in the proper size and thickness which created the proper pitch without having to be filled with water. The glasses were nested in each other which made the instrument more compact and playable. The glasses were mounted on a spindle which was turned by a foot treadle. His armonica won popularity in England and on the Continent. Beethoven and Mozart composed music for it.

9
Famous inventions and experiments Lightning Rod: In 1752, Benjamin Franklin conducted his famous kite flying experiments and proved that lightning is electricity. During the 1700s lightning was a major cause of fires. Many buildings caught on fire when struck by lightning and kept burning because they were built mainly of wood. Benjamin Franklin wanted his experiment to be practical, so he developed the lightning rod. A tall rod is attached to the outside wall of the house. One end of the rod points up into the sky; the other end is connected to a cable, which stretches down the side of the house to the ground. The end of the cable is then buried at least ten feet underground. The rod attracts the lightning and sends the charge into the ground, which helps to decrease the amount of fires.

10
Famous inventions and experiments Bifocals: Ben invented bifocals in 1784. Benjamin Franklin developed bifocal glasses. He was getting old and was having trouble seeing both up-close and at a distance. Getting tired of switching between two types of glasses, he devised a way to have both types of lenses fit into the frame. The distance lens was placed at the top and the the up-close lens was placed at the bottom. Daylight Savings Time: Ben Franklin believed that people should use daylight productively. He was one of the greatest supporters of daylight savings time in summer.

11
Curiosities Some of his famous Phrases: A penny saved is a penny earned Well done, is better than well said. We must all hang together, or assuredly, we shall all hang separately. He that lives upon hope will die fasting. Beware of little expenses. A small leak will sink a great ship. You may delay, but time will not. Never leave that till tomorrow which you can do today. The doors of wisdom are never shut.

12
Curiosities 100 United States Dollars (1985) This note is still legal currency and is still in print Memorial in Philadelphia (Rotunda of the Franklin Institute)

13
Conclusion We usually think of Benjamin Franklin as an American patriot and founding father. But his influence extended much further. At a time when people rarely travelled more than 20 miles from where they were born, Franklin made eight Atlantic crossings and visited ten countries. As a skilled diplomat, he negotiated treaties with Great Britain, France, Germany, Sweden, and Spain and helped secure America's place in the world. As a respected scientist and scholar, he was granted honorary degrees in England, Scotland, and America. And as an Enlightenment thinker, he exchanged letters with some of the greatest minds of the eighteenth century.